Page 55 of Night Moves
She started the story.
A few moments later, Drake entered the room holding something concealed in his hand. He knelt down next to Willow.
“This will help you feel safer.” He flipped open his hand and revealed what almost looked like the remote for a car resting on his palm.
“Read,” Sadie demanded.
Natalie turned back to the book but couldn’t concentrate. She had to hear what Drake was saying.
“It’s called a personal alarm,” he said. “You pull this out and push this button, and it will send a text to me and my brothers telling us where you are and that you need help.”
She looked wide-eyed at him but didn’t speak.
He held out a bright blue lanyard. “You can wear it on this cord like a necklace so it’ll always be with you.”
Willow tipped her head and studied the device. “Even in the bathtub?”
He nodded. “It’s waterproof, but you might just want to set it on the tub next to you so you don’t have to dry it off.”
“Okay.” She stared at the alarm but didn’t pick it up.
“Want me to put it on the cord?” Drake asked.
She nodded.
He attached the lanyard and lifted it over her head. She cupped the alarm in her hand and held it close to her chest. The unease that had been lodged in her big brown eyes since they’d left her house cleared.
She tucked the device inside her T-shirt then threw her arms around Drake. “I like you. You’re the best one.”
“Best one?” he asked, sounding truly baffled.
“Of the big men. I’m kind of scared of all of you.”
Logan tugged on Natalie’s arm to continue the story, but she had to see how Drake handled Willow’s announcement.
He leaned back. “You have nothing to be afraid of with me or my brothers. I can tell you silly stories about all of us, and you’d know that we’re just a bunch of big goofballs. So you, my friend, have nothing to be afraid of.” He tapped her on the nose. “How about we get back to those Legos?”
“Promise you’ll tell me the stories.” She held out her pinkie.
He locked pinkies with her. “Promise.”
Willow cast him a shy smile. Oh, wow. That was so sweet. The child was smitten.
Natalie’s heart split wide open, letting more of Drake inside. Any guy who so sweetly cared for a little girl was a guy she should never let go. Even if he didn’t want to get involved. Even if he didn’t want kids of his own right now. And even if she vowed never to get involved again. Drake was a guy a woman just had to give a chance to, and from this moment forward, she would keep an open mind on that front.
Drake went to the whiteboard in his workshop as Natalie took a seat. He approved of her change of clothing. She looked like she was more comfortable than before and like she fit into the surroundings better. Or did he just wish she fit in his life more? That she might someday be able to embrace the more rugged way of living. Maybe.
Oddly enough he also wished he was back in the cabin with the kids. How crazy was that? He’d actually enjoyed the break with them. Now that he was back to work, he had to stow the warm feelings for all of them and do his job.
He looked at his brothers remaining in the room. Aiden had relieved Brendan, and Brendan was napping. Until this killer was found, none of them would get a full night’s sleep. And even then, Erik needed to stay glued to his computer as he was the one who could locate much needed information. And as lead, Drake would go until he dropped and had to take a few hours. He was running on adrenaline and wasn’t even close to crashing.
He looked at Erik and Clay. “Who wants to go first?”
“I will,” Erik said, his tone sharp and concerned. “I hoped the backgrounds on all of Gentry’s victims might give us a hint as to where he might hole up. No such luck. I finished the search including for images, which didn’t return any leads, but I’ve included them in the report anyway.” He slid a report down the table to Drake. “You can read it, but the CliffsNotes version is that the women have nothing in common. And I mean nothing. And no connection to one another either. And there’s nothing in the case notes to suggest a motive for the murders. There was nothing sexual in the attacks. Ages ranged from mid-twenties to sixty-one. There’s no evidence that they knew each other or that they frequented the same places.”
“Nothing?” Drake shoved his hand into his hair and considered pulling it out. “Not even Gina and the other woman killed in Portland?”
He shook his head. “Rebecca Vann was sixty-one. Had a well-to-do husband, never worked except as a mom and housewife. Husband died a few years ago. She stayed in the same house and lived a quiet life. Was a master gardener, which was how she spent her time when she wasn’t with her two grown daughters.”
